Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Washington Regional Medical System

Organization Overview, Mission, Vision, and Values

Our mission is to improve the health of people in the communities we serve through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention, and wellness education. Washington Regional Medical System is a community-owned, locally governed, non-profit health care system located in Northwest Arkansas in the heart of Fayetteville, which is consistently ranked among the Best Places to live in the country. Our 425-bed medical center has been named the #1 hospital in Arkansas for six consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. We employ 3,200+ team members and serve the region with over 40 clinic locations, the region’s only Level II trauma center, and five Centers of Excellence - the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute; Washington Regional Walker Heart Institute; Washington Regional Women and Infants Center; Washington Regional Total Joint Center; and Washington Regional Pat Walker Center for Seniors. 

Position Summary

The Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer (the “CNO”) serves as the senior nursing executive for Washington Regional Medical Center (“WRMC”) and provides executive leadership, strategic direction, and administrative oversight for nursing and assigned clinical care services across the hospital. The CNO is accountable for the overall performance of nursing services, including professional practice, patient care quality, safety, workforce strategy, regulatory readiness, patient experience, and operational and financial outcomes in alignment with the organization’s mission, values, and strategic priorities. Working through nursing and operational leaders, the CNO establishes the vision, governance structures, performance expectations, and strategic initiatives necessary to achieve excellence in clinical outcomes, service delivery, team member engagement, physician collaboration, and efficient resource utilization. The CNO reports to the Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer (the “COO”) of the hospital, serves as a key member of the hospital’s executive leadership team, and partners closely with physicians, executive leaders, and the governing body to advance organizational priorities, strengthen nursing excellence, and position the hospital for long-term success in a dynamic health care environment.

Essential Executive Responsibilities

• Provides executive leadership and enterprise-level oversight for nursing services and assigned clinical operations, setting strategic direction and performance expectations that advance quality, safety, service excellence, workforce stability, and operational effectiveness across the hospital.
• Leads, mentors, and develops nursing and clinical leaders, setting clear expectations and accountability for performance in alignment with hospital goals, mission, values, and strategic direction.
• Shapes and sustains a hospital-wide culture of professional nursing practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement responsive to evolving patient and community needs.
• Directs nursing resource planning, budget development, productivity strategies, and capital prioritization to support financial stewardship and sustainable hospital operations.
• Champions evidence-based practice, nursing research, clinical innovation, and professional development initiatives that strengthen care delivery and support nationally recognized standards of practice.
• Uses data, benchmarking, and performance analytics to identify priorities, guide decision-making, and drive measurable improvement in clinical quality, patient outcomes, patient experience, and operational results.
• Partners with the governing body, medical staff, executive leaders, and system stakeholders on strategic planning, service line development, growth initiatives, and organizational priorities that strengthen the hospital’s market position and meet future community health needs.
• Establishes the leadership framework, structures, and expectations that enable nursing departments and care teams to plan, coordinate, deliver, and improve safe, effective, and patient-centered care.
• Leads enterprise-level nursing workforce strategies for recruitment, retention, engagement, succession planning, and leadership development to ensure a highly capable and resilient nursing organization.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and standardization of nursing policies, procedures, care models, and clinical protocols that promote consistency, quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.
• Ensures patient, family, and caregiver perspectives inform care delivery strategies and operational priorities, fostering an environment centered on service excellence and continuous performance improvement.
• Directs hospital-wide nursing programs and systems of care that ensure patient needs are assessed, coordinated, evaluated, and met across the continuum of services within assigned areas of responsibility.
• Provides executive oversight for nursing practice governance, professional standards, accreditation readiness, and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and licensing requirements, ensuring a strong framework of accountability throughout the nursing organization.
• Ensures robust quality, patient safety, and performance improvement processes are embedded across assigned departments, with clear executive accountability for sustained outcomes, regulatory readiness, and continuous organizational advancement.

Qualifications

• Education: Master’s degree required in nursing, health care administration, business administration, or a closely related field. Doctoral degree preferred. Current Arkansas licensure as a Registered Nurse required. Demonstrated knowledge of nursing practice, health care operations, regulatory standards, quality improvement, finance, and executive leadership principles required.
• Experience:  Ten or more years of progressively responsible nursing leadership experience in an acute care hospital setting required, including substantial executive or senior leadership accountability for multiple nursing departments, patient care operations, quality outcomes, workforce strategy, and budget oversight. The ideal candidate will bring a demonstrated record of leading complex organizations through growth, change, and performance transformation while building high-performing teams and strong physician and executive partnerships.

Additional Position Requirements:

• Executive presence, sound judgment, and exceptional relationship-building skills necessary to lead through influence, inspire confidence, and communicate effectively with board members, physicians, executives, leaders, team members, community representatives, and external partners.
• Advanced strategic, operational, and financial acumen necessary to assess complex organizational issues, align resources with priorities, guide capital and operating budget decisions, and lead large-scale initiatives that improve clinical, operational, and financial performance.

 

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This position primarily functions in an office setting, with occasional exposure to communicable disease and body fluids. Majority of time is spent sitting (up to 60% of work time) with frequent standing and walking of short distances required (up to 40% of work time.) This position is frequently required to lift and carry objects weighing up to 10 lb. (up to 20% of work time.)

 

Notice: This job description is designed to provide an overview of the essential and principal duties and responsibilities of the position. The job description is not designed or intended to cover or set forth a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Washington Regional reserves the right in its absolute discretion to change duties, responsibilities or activities or assign new duties, responsibilities or activities at any time with or without notice. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.